This rotisserie chicken starts with a balance of spices, fresh herbs, and aromatics. You’ll learn how to roast the chicken until golden, savory, and crispy in harmony with a vegetable underneath. Both the chicken and roasted vegetable are finished with pan juices for a juicy and satisfying bite.

Roasting a whole chicken is:

• straight-forward
• cost-effective
• a great way to utilize the entire bird

In my experience, it’s also a clever way to cook chicken because the bones and skin keep the meat moist. If cooking a whole chicken is new to you, you’ll soon see that this skill can unlock limitless chicken-vegetable pairings. Imagine the weeknight possibilities!

As you can see, you can stuff fresh herbs under the skin which allows that flavor to penetrate the meat. In this guide, I’ll explore spice rubs, herbs, and vegetables that you might like to try with your chicken.

No Fuss Rotisserie Chicken in Your Oven

My definition of practical is a roast chicken recipe that you don’t have to babysit. If you like crispy skin, juicy chicken, and satisfying one-pot meals, this post will highlight how rotisserie-style chicken can happen in your oven.

Roasting in Your Dutch Oven

Good news, you don’t need special equipment (e.g. rotisserie roaster) to make rotisserie chicken at home! You can lock in all those juices and get crispy skin (no basting required) using my high-heat Dutch oven method.

Using a Dutch oven in the dry heat of the oven is a great way to capture evaporation while concentrating flavors. Here’s how it works: you create moist air flow by cooking the chicken on top of vegetables. Plus, the walls of the pot keep the chicken nice and snug so there’s no need to busy about with string. For real. You don’t have to truss your chicken!

For the vegetable, you have choices. For flavor, you want an in-season vegetable. Since it’s Fall, I’m going with rutabaga today (recipe below) but if it’s spring, I highly recommend you experience Chicken Over Radishes (yes, you can totally roast radishes and they are uh-mazing!).

MODIFYING RECIPE TO FIT A DIFFERENT POT OR PAN

This rotisserie chicken recipe is intended for a mid-size to large (5-quart and up) Dutch oven, but that doesn’t mean you need to buy a new one if the one you have is a different size. With a few adjustments, you can make this recipe fit the pot you’ve got.

My pot is smaller.

Disassemble the chicken into pieces and use a thermometer to make sure the finished internal temperature matches the one indicated in the recipe card. Chicken often fits in a smaller pot when it’s broken down.

Cast iron pan.

Your chicken will splay out a bit more and should be trussed (tie the legs together) to prevent over-cooking. You will have to baste the bird with pan-drippings every 20-minutes to prevent drying out.

Rotisserie Seasoning Ingredients

To make a tasty chicken, you only need salt and pepper. Here are a few dry rub blends that we love:

Herb Rub	Bold and Spicy	Holiday Spiced
1 t garlic powder 2 t paprika 1 t onion powder 1 1/2 t dried or fresh thyme	1 t garlic powder 1 t smoked paprika 2 t chili powder 1 t onion powder 1 1/2 t dried oregano	2 T butter 1 t ground cinnamon 1 t fennel seeds (freshly ground) 1/2 t whole cloves (for sticking in skin) 1 t ground ginger 1 T maple syrup/brown sugar

SEASONAL VEGETABLE TIPS

There are 2 practical reasons for including a vegetable underneath your chicken: (1) air-flow and (2) basting (steam rises and coats the chicken so you don’t have to!). It’s a wonderful bonus to get an entire side dish flavored exquisitely with drippings!

Spring	Summer	Fall	Winter
whole radishes (greens to cook just before serving) beets, peel and large dice carrots, peel and large roll cut artichoke hearts, whole or halved	fennel bulb, quartered new potatoes, skin-on, whole if small or halved broccoli/cauliflower, large florets summer squash, extra-large dice whole baby bell peppers whole Roma tomatoes eggplant, extra-large dice	Brussels sprouts whole sweet potatoes large dice winter squash large dice whole mushrooms, such as cremini	leeks, large 2-inch sections cabbage, section into thick wedges parsnips, peeled and large roll cut turnips, peel and cut in half

Make Ahead Tip: After rubbing on the spice blend, the chicken can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before roasting.

YOUNG CHICKEN

Typically, a young chicken weighs less; there may be less fat and the flesh will be more tender. When working with a young bird, it’s good practice to place some butter underneath the skin for added fat. Cook to the recommended temperature to avoid over-cooking.

It’s ok to use this recipe for young chicken but you may end up with far less meat, so consider cooking two birds if they will fit in the same pot.

INGREDIENT NOTES

To make rotisserie chicken, you only need 4 ingredients:

1. salt
2. pepper
3. whole chicken
4. oil

That said, I like to think you could perfect the chicken by thinking about how to get more flavor throughout the meat. That’s why I include lemon and onion in the cavity and fresh herbs under the skin.

You can also branch out from basic salt and pepper and include a number of dry spices on the outside for even more robust flavor.

Finally, for moisture, you can include any vegetable that you want underneath. Today, I’m going with rutabaga but I think the best vegetable I’ve tried is radishes.

ROTISERRIE INSTRUCTIONS

First, you’ll need a Dutch oven. I have successfully roasted a whole chicken in this 6-quart Amazon Basics Dutch Oven, but mine eventually chipped. If you want my top recommendation, you should invest in a Le Creuset Dutch Oven because the consistency and quality is unparalleled.

In the first step, you will prepare your seasonal vegetable (aim for roughly 1-inch size pieces). Add the whole peeled garlic, if using, and sprinkle with olive oil and salt.

For the chicken, pat dry with paper towel to ensure the skin is dry then brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and place on top of the vegetable. In the cavity of the chicken, place the lemon and scallion inside, if using. If you have fresh herbs, you mince them and gently place them between the skin and the flesh.

You don’t have to truss the chicken, but you can if you want to.

Roast for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the internal temperature registers 165F and the skin is golden and crispy. Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes. Carve the chicken on a cutting board and serve with pan juices and roasted rutabaga.

Recipe Tips and Variations

If you love crispy skin as much as we do, you might want to cook your chicken past the recommended temperature a bit. Your chicken will still be plenty juicy even if cooked until the skin is golden and the internal temperature reads 175 degrees. We love our chicken this way!

This rotisserie guide is all about celebrating seasonality and the versatility of chicken! When using this recipe, feel free to mix-and-match the vegetables and discover your favorite.

Please experiment away. If you own a smoker or a grill, your chicken would be fabulous with a little wood smoke *especially with the “bold and spicy” dry-rub.

Don’t you just love this style of cooking? It’s so convenient and worth keeping an extra frozen whole chicken in the freezer. You never know when you need a simple option for family dinner or even for entertaining.

To keep the rotisserie chicken warm (slow cooker):

Place the chicken in the slow cooker on the lowest possible setting (usually “warm”) for up to 8 hours.

Ideas For Using Leftover Rotisserie Chicken:

• Asparagus Watercress Salad with Rotisserie Chicken
• Easy Chicken Tinga Tacos
• Curried Chicken Egg Salad in Collard Green Wraps
• Tuscan Kale Salad – Featuring my Essential Lemon Garlic Sauce (a must-try!)
• 1-Pot Cheesy Enchiladas
• Just re-warm and pair it with my Taco Shop Guacamole Sauce

Photography by Adam Rahman

Shop the Products

The Frayed Apron may earn money if you buy through these links.